Accelerated Bridge Repairs: Meeting the Challenge in Oklahoma

In a record-setting display of accelerated construction, traffic began
rolling over the reconstructed Interstate 40 bridge in eastern Oklahoma
on July 29, just slightly more than 2 months after the bridge's collapse.
Fourteen people were killed on May 26, 2002, when a barge slammed into
the bridge on Interstate 40 over the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls,
Oklahoma. The impact caused four of the bridge's approach spans to collapse.
In addition to the tragic loss of life, the dramatic bridge collapse
deprived the State of perhaps its most important east-west transportation
link, costing millions in lost time and commercial revenue.

"Everyone connected with this project has given a maximum effort
from the beginning. I'm tremendously proud of the way our ODOT people
responded to this crisis and the long, hard hours they worked. The many
organizations we have partnered with on this project have also given
the utmost in work and cooperation," said Oklahoma Department of
Transportation (ODOT) Director Gary Ridley at the reopening ceremony.
"Our contractor, Gilbert Central, did an incredible job of organizing
and carrying out a project that would normally take twice as long. With
a major coast-to-coast traffic artery interrupted by the bridge disaster,
rapid reconstruction was imperative, and all parties came through brilliantly."

"The quick response of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation,
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and private sector contractors
combined with the innovative approaches provided for in the contracting
and construction process serve as an example of how our country responds
to meet challenges," said Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters
at the reopening.

The first vehicle breaks the ribbon at the I-40 reopening on
July 29.

Traffic flows eastbound across the reconstructed bridge.

A view of the work site from down river.

A little more than a week after the disaster, ODOT held a pre-bid meeting
at the bridge site so contractors could see the extent of the damage.
This was the first time ODOT had arranged a pre-bid meeting for potential
bidders without having a complete set of construction plans. On June
12, a special session of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission awarded
the primary contract for the rebuilding to Gilbert Central Corporation.
By this point, demolition and removal of the fallen section had been
completed and reconstruction was ready to begin. The consultant that
designed the reconstruction plans had been given 16 days to have biddable
plans ready, with the contract providing an incentive of $5,000 for
every day it beat the 16-day schedule and a disincentive fee of $2,400
for every day over 16. The plans were completed in 12 days, which was
a tremendous time saver for the project.

Innovative contracting measures that ODOT used to speed up the project
include A+B bidding, which the department has used for major projects
for the past several years. With A+B bidding, contractors bid on both
the work itself (A) and how soon they believe they can complete the
work (B). ODOT also mandated large incentives and disincentives as part
of the contract. Gilbert Central would receive $6,000 for every hour
it beat the contract schedule or lose $6,000 for every hour it exceeded
it. No cap was placed on the number of hours either way, but if the
contractor took even a few days more than allowed to complete the project,
it would cost the company close to half a million dollars.

Gilbert Central built the bridge primarily out of concrete, which was
easier than steel to bring into the area and could be poured on site.
The new structure has concrete girders, with the exception of one span
that is tied into the existing bridge. The contractor employed a technology
that utilized computer chips to measure the temperature and strength
of the concrete to keep engineers informed of any irregularities that
occurred during the construction process. Other innovations used included
precast concrete and heat-straightening to repair damaged steel girders.
In this repair process, a limited amount of heat is applied in specific
patterns to the deformed regions of damaged steel in repetitive heating
and cooling cycles to produce a gradual straightening of the material.

Coordination among Federal, State, and Tribal governments was crucial
to putting the bridge's rebuilding on the fast track. The Cherokee Nation,
which controls the land around the site, facilitated the project by
making work areas easily accessible to contractors. FHWA approved $3
million in Federal emergency relief funds to get work started immediately.
In addition, FHWA's Okahoma Division office provided technical expertise
and assistance throughout the rebuilding process, particularly in the
area of contract administration. FHWA worked with ODOT to streamline
the review and approval procedures to get a reconstruction contract
ready to put up for bid. ODOT also received technical support and cooperation
from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, and the California
Department of Transportation.

About $15 million was spent on demolition, clean-up, and repair of
the bridge. But the amount of money spent on repairs to the bridge was
far less than what it would have cost to keep the bridge closed: ODOT
traffic engineers estimated that the total user cost was $430,000 per
day for every day that the bridge was not open. For accelerating the
construction and beating the deadline set in the construction contract
by 10 days, Gilbert Central earned $1.5 million in incentive funds.

ODOT also spent $12 million on asphalt resurfacing and other upgrades
and maintenance to the highways used as a detour around the site. An
average of 4,395 trucks and 12,546 other vehicles used the detours every
day. The $12 million cost also included safety improvements to railroad
crossings on the detour routes, such as adding crossing gates, additional
signage, rumble strips, and striping. An average of 18 trains crossed
the detour highways daily.

For more information on the Oklahoma I-40 bridge project, contact the
ODOT Public Affairs Office at 405-521-6000 or Lubin Quinones at FHWA's
Oklahoma Division Office, 405-605-6011 (email: lubin.quinones@fhwa.dot.gov).
You can also visit ODOT's Web site at www.okladot.state.ok.us/public-info/i40-bridge.htm.